Goals: The purpose of this activity is:

1. Create and perform a play or a song (or a drawing, if the required resources are available) about the Teak Woodlands on one of the given themes below:
• Relationships between species of the teak woodlands community,
• The effect on a natural community of the disappearance of one of its species.
• The uses of the teak woodlands by people and other animals.
• Sustainable use of the teak woodlands.

EEO Preparation:

1. If this camp is using both the EE Exclosure and the Big Enclosure for activities, make sure each guide knows which one they are using for their ‘Exclosure 1’ and ‘Exclosure 2’ activities.
2. Also coordinate orientation and closure places for each activity for each guide/group so that two guides are not planning on using the same activity area. This activity should use either the conference area or activity deck for closure, preferably the activity deck.

Guide Preparation:

1. If this camp is using both the EE Exclosure and the Big Enclosure for activities, make sure which one you have been assigned to by the EEO.
2. At the end of the previous activity or meal, announce to your group where to meet you. Coordinate this meeting place with the other guides in advance, so no two groups are meeting at the same place. The activity deck may be a good place to meet for this activity, since you will be returning here for the closure activity.
3. Make sure the blackboard and chalk are in place at the conference room or the activity deck, wherever you will be meeting and conducting the lecture (before you will lead your group out to the EE Exclosure).
4. Have ready for the closure activity: 4 pieces of paper or index cards with one of the themes listed in objective number 6 above on each.
5. Be sure to have a pocket-knife with you to sharpen pencils as needed.
6. Be sure to have toilet paper and trowel in your daypack.

Activity Outline:

1. Check Students
2. Introduce Activity
3. Review concepts: Species, Adaptations, Habitat
4. Introduce Concept: Natural Community
5. Deliver Lecture on Botanical Terms
6. Orient to Logbook Work
7. Walk through EEE to the Tree Study Plot
8. Describe Rules of Activity
9. Monitor Progress
10. As pairs finish the first step, lead Students through Next Steps.
11. After time is up, Walk back to Bush Camp
12. Discuss Nitrogen Fixing Plants
13. Review concepts: Species, Niche, Adaptation
14. Discuss significance of Adaptations
15. Introduce Concepts: Endangerment and Extinction
16. Discuss Endangerment of Teak Woodlands
17. Create Plays or Songs about Given Themes, in small Groups
18. Monitor Progress
19. Groups Present
20. Orient to Next Meeting Details

Student Orientation (Introduction):

1. Make sure all the students are present and that everyone has their logbook/pencil.
2. Gather the children together and invite them to sit in loose circle for the introduction.
3. "This activity is a follow-up to the activity you did in the EE exclosure area earlier. Today we will use observation and scientific skills to identify the different species of trees that live in the teak woodlands. We are going to return to the EE Exclosure area soon, but we have some tings to talk about to prepare you for this activity before we go."
4. Now you need to make sure the students understand some ecological terms. Whether this is an introduction or a review, depends on whether this is the students’ second, third or fourth bush camp activity. If it is an early activity, you may need to spend more time reinforcing some of these terms in the introduction to the lesson. "Does anyone know what is the scientific term a kind of living thing? How many of you have heard the word species before? Give examples of species and ask for other examples from the children.) The word ‘species’ is the same whether it is singular or plural. You can say ‘one species’, or ‘many species’, just like you can say ‘one fish’, or ‘many fish’.
5. "During the last activity, did you notice species of trees that were familiar to you? Who can tell us one species of tree that you saw here before?" Remind them with the names of some teak woodlands trees, if necessary.
6. "Good. Now, did we see any acacia trees here? Did we see any ebony trees here? Did we see any leadwood trees here?" Use local names for these trees as needed, and/or substitute them with other more familiar trees not found in the teak woodlands community. "Why not? We often see these other kinds of trees in the Hwange National Park area. Why not here in the teak woodlands?
7. "What do we call the kind of place that a species is found? Each species belongs to a specific kind of natural community of living things. A natural community is made up of all the interacting species that belong to a type of natural area. What species of plants and animals make up the teak woodlands? The type of natural community that a species belongs to is called its habitat." Give one or two examples of a species and its habitat and ask for more examples for the students. They may need help identifying other natural communities in the Hwange area, suggest a few more, like vlei, pan, and acacia woodlands. "Now then, who can name a species whose habitat is the teak woodlands community?"
8. Often, natural communities are named after the most common plant species that lives there. What do you think is the most common plat species in the teak woodlands? Sometimes, natural communities are named after another prominent feature, like the pan community.
9. But natural communities typically have very many species in addition to the most common plant species. Scientists can identify a natural community by the species of plants and animals found there. Today, we are going to use the skills of a scientist to identify the different trees of the teak woodlands community. What are some ways that different species of trees are different from one another?"
10. " Good. To proceed, we must first learn some scientific terms used in botany. Does anyone know what botany is? Botany is the scientific study of plants."

Delivering the Lesson:

1. Turn in your logbooks to page __________, Botany Terms. These pages are blank because we are now going to use these two pages to copy down some diagrams about different types of leaves. If you run out of space, you can continue on the next two pages, "Lecture Notes."
2. Diagram and label the following botanical terms on the blackboard:
1. BRANCHING PATTERNS: (Discuss and label the difference between twigs and leaf stems. A twig remains after the leaf dies and falls away. It may eventually grow into a tree branch. It is woodier than a leaf stem. A leaf stem falls away when the leaf dies and falls. It is usually greener and more flexible than a twig. Distinguishing between a twig and a leaf stem can important in identifying tree leaves, but it is sometimes difficult to do.)
1. Alternate
2. Opposite
2. LEAF TYPES: (Reinforce and label the difference between twigs and leaf stems. Label leaf, leaflets and pinnae.)
1. Simple
2. Compound
1. Palmate
2. Pinnate
3. Bipinnate
3. Discuss and define the following terms on the blackboard:
1. FLOWER TYPE: (Discuss reproduction in plants – why, unlike animals, they need flowers and pollinators.)
1. Animal Pollinated (colourful, fragrant, contains nectar)
2. Wind Pollinated (dull coloured, no fragrance or nectar)
2. SEED TYPE: (Discuss why, unlike animals, plants usually need help in sending their children off to live somewhere else.)
1. Animal Dispersed (colourful, fragrant and edible when ripe)
2. Wind Dispersed (dull-coloured, winged or fluffy)
3. Self-dispersed (dull-coloured, hard twisting pod, explodes when ripe)
4. "Now that we know a little bit more about trees and how to tell them apart, turn in you logbooks to pages ________, ‘Tree Search.’ Note that there are four of these pages for each of you to complete, even though you will be working with your partner again."
5. Go over one of the pages with the students, helping them to understand what is required in each block. Note that one block is only filled in if the tree has flowers or fruit/seeds on it.
6. "We are now going to walk into (a different part of?) the exclosure area. "Who remembers how do we walk when we go into the forest?" Lead the group into the part of the exclosure area where many trees are tagged. Keep looking back to make sure they are walking carefully in single file.
7. "You and your partner will pick four trees, one tree at a time. The tree you pick must:
1. have a red tag on it.
2. have some leaves on it."
8. "Who remembers the rules about where you may go in the forest?" (with your partner and within sight of me.)
9. "Once you have picked your tree, complete one of the Tree Search pages for it. Leave only the last question unanswered."
10. "Once you have completed the page come show it to me, then I will show you the next two steps."
11. As each pair comes to you with their first completed page,
1. check over it to make sure they have understood.
2. direct them to the "Tree Identification Key" on page ______ of their logbook, and show them how to use it, work through the first question or two of the key with them. Then instruct them to go back to the tree and to finish going through the key until they find the scientific name of the tree they have picked and come back to you.
12. When they come back to you having completed the key for the first time,
1. direct them to the "Common Trees List" on page _______ of their logbook.
2. tell them to find out more about the tree by looking it up by its scientific name. By going back to the tree and reading more about the tree’s characteristics, they should be able to confirm if their identification was correct.
3. The "Common Trees List" also lists the family to which the tree belongs. Seeing the name of the family, they can now answer the last question on the Tree Hunt page.
4. Tell them to continue the three-step process with the next three trees they choose, one tree at a time. They do not need to return to you unless they need help.
1. After about 45 minutes or so, depending on their interest and energy levels, warn them that they only have ten minutes left to finish the tree they are working on. Tell them it is okay if they have not completed all four Tree Search pages.
2. After the allotted time, regroup, making sure you have everyone, and lead them safely back to the activity deck.

Conclusion:

1. Back at the activity deck, ask the students which species they found that were members of the Mimosoideae Family of plants. Ask the same question of the Papilionoideae Family. Explain to them the significance of what members of these two families do to enrich the soil. (Nitrogen is a substance needed to build the proteins which make up the bodies of all organisms. The air we breathe is about four-fifths nitrogen gas [oxygen is only about one-fifth], but no plants or animals can use nitrogen gas. Only the nitrogen fixing bacteria can turn the nitrogen in the air into a form of nitrogen in the soil that plants can absorb through their roots and use to build proteins. Then, these proteins can pass through the food chain from plants to herbivorous animals to predators. These nitrogen fixing bacteria are found most commonly in the roots of members of the these two families of plants. The Papilionoideae family includes beans and peas, which is why beans, of all the vegetables and fruits in our diet, are the best source of protein for us, besides meat.
2. Then, lead them in a discussion reviewing the concepts of adaptations, niche, habitat and ecological relationships. Introduce the concept of biodiversity and its importance to stable ecosystems. "Why do you think each species of tree is different than other species? Each species is adapted to fulfil a slightly different niche than other species. How might the niche of one tree species be different than other species?" (use different pollinators and seed dispersers; use different soil nutrients; are able to enrich poor soils through the process of nitrogen fixation; are eaten by different animals; protect themselves from leaf-eaters differently; are more or less resistant to fire, drought, frost, shade, and heavy browsing; etc.) "How were the species different?"
3. "How might the niches of different tree species be similar?" (photosynthesise their own food using sunlight air and water; use green pigment, chlorophyll, in their leaves to capture solar energy; grow trunks to reach the light; use bark to protect their trunks; use roots to absorb water and minerals from the soil; etc.) "How were the different species similar?"
4. So we see that species have the shape, traits and behaviours they have, based on the adaptations they need in order to fulfil their niche in their natural communities.
5. Now, I want to introduce one more big scientific term to you, ‘biodiversity’. Have you ever heard this term before? Biodiversity is the number of different species that occurs in a natural community. Why do you think it might be important for none of the species to disappear from its natural community?" At this point, you may want to share a story, like the snake story, as an example. "When one species disappears, the other species that depend on it, may also disappear and a chain of disappearances may occur, destabilising the whole natural community. Can anyone think of an example of this? So you see that it is very important to preserve the biodiversity of nature in order to protect all living things.
6. What term do we use when a species is in danger of disappearing? Can you think of an endangered animal species in this area? How about an endangered tree species?
7. Did you know that whole natural communities can also be endangered? The teak woodlands is an endangered natural community. Can anybody guess why so much of the teak woodlandss of Zimbabwe have disappeared? Does anyone know why the wood of the teak tree is so valuable to people?
8. What do you think it is important to do when you cut down a teak tree?
9. Optional: If they are showing interest, you may go on to explain: "Another thing about the teak tree is that it is very sensitive to cold when it is young, just like a small child that must be kept warm by its mother. About every few winters, we experience such cold temperatures at night in this area that a frost forms on the leaves of plants. Young teak trees will die unless they are protected by taller, older trees. Therefore, if we cut down the whole forest, the teak woodlands has trouble regenerating, even if we plant new trees. So the best way to cut down teak trees, is to take just a few at a time out of the forest, so there are enough left to protect the young ones as they grow up to replace the one that were removed."
10. "You are now going to create your own short play or song to show one of the following themes that we have discussed today:
• Relationships between species of the teak woodlands community
• The effect on a natural community when one species goes extinct.
• The uses of the teak woodlands by people and other animals.
• Sustainable use of the teak woodlands.
1. "Form groups of two or four. Partners may either work alone, or join one other set of partners. Each group will pick a piece of paper with the theme they must present written on it."
2. "You have fifteen minutes to create your play or song. Each member of the group must play a part in the presentation." Advise them that:
• any play should only last about 5 minutes
• it is easier to create a song, if you use a popular melody and just change the lyrics.
1. While they are working on their presentations, go from group to group to help them with ideas. Demonstrate ideas to be helpful, but don’t override their own creativity.
2. Have each group present to the rest of the activity group. Applaud the creativity of each group. Make "capturing comments."
3. Ask the children who knows when to meet for your next activity. Tell them where to meet.